Accosted for his “cocky” play by Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards, Montreal Canadiens rookie defenseman P.K. Subban must be having a hard time holding back his laughter. Afterall, it’s not often a player of Richards “reputation” calls out a player for his play, which, in retrospect, looks to be more a combination of confidence and vigor rather than the “cocky” label Richards chooses to put on Subban. In a statement made after Tuesday nights game between the Orange and Black and the Canadiens (a game in which Philly lost 3-0), Richards said Subban thinks he’s “better than a lot of people”. Richards went on to make a more detailed statement, saying, “It’s just frustrating to see a young guy like that come in here and so much as think that he’s better than a lot of people. You have to

When Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke took over the reigns from elder statesman Cliff Fletcher, he proudly boasted that his Toronto Maple Leafs would be a mirror image of himself, a team that would play with “pugnacity, testosterone and truculence.” Burke made that statement way back in November of 2008 and, to date, we (Leaf fans) are yet to see much of those traits from any of his players. Sure, pugilist Colton Orr can drop the gloves with the best of them, but does anyone really think any of the opposing players are shaking in their boots at the prospect of lining up against Orr? Fact is, outside of Dion Phaneuf—who only seems to be truculent when it suits him—nobody on the Maple Leafs current roster sends a message to the opposition. Disagree? Take another look at the

The Carolina Hurricanes, and General Manager Jim Rutherford, have known that they needed some defensive help. They might just have found it in a very well-advised trade today with the Calgary Flames. Both teams have struggled as of late. The ‘Canes have been outscored by a combined score of 15-3 over their last two games and have given up 60 goals on the year, tied for second-most among all Eastern Conference teams. Meanwhile, Calgary has lost six of their last seven games and have quickly fallen nine points behind Northwest Division-leading Vancouver. However, the trade, in which the Flames send defenseman Ian White and left winger Brett Sutter to Carolina in exchange for defenseman Anton Babchuk and right winger Tom Kostopoulos, might have positive outcomes for both teams. Carolina will get a major defensive boost with 26-year-old Ian White. White had played

With his team currently sitting in 28th place it’s no surprise that Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson is receiving plenty of criticism. Off-season additions Kris Versteeg (who can’t seem to score) and Colby Armstrong (currently injured) have been bitter disappointments to management and the Leafs Nation alike, while big money players such as Dion Phaneuf (also currently injured), Tyler Bozak (who carries a $3.75 million cap hit), Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin have also garnered their fair share of scrutiny for their paltry play. Through it all Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has stood behind his head coach, suggesting that it is the players who deserve the criticism, not Ron Wilson. With the players struggling to find their way and the team plunging deeper into the abyss of the NHL standings the question remains, can Ron Wilson

OK, it’s been awhile since Brian Burke was the GM for the Vancouver Canucks, 2004 in fact. But having watched him work as a GM, his tendencies for a quick win solution have never left him where ever he has gone. Before I relate what this has to with the Phil Kessel trade, let’s look back at his time in Vancouver. In June of 1998 Burke was hired by the Canucks as the GM, and operated as such until 2004 when his contract was not renewed. Upon his arrival he already had the likes of Markus Naslund, Mattias Ohlund, Todd Bertuzzi, Brian McCabe, Pavel Bure, Mark Messier, Alex Mogilny and Adrian Aucoin.

With all the attention the news of the Toronto Maple Leafs calling up Nazem Kadri got everyone could understand if he played poorly last night. Instead, Kadri responded with a spirited game that saw him create a number of scoring chances, make a few nifty plays and register a shot on goal. Now, let’s not get carried away here, Kadri was not spectacular and, given the fact he didn’t score (which is why he is here) you could easily call his first regular season game of the 2010-11 campaign a failure, but head coach Ron Wilson and general manager Brian Burke had to be encouraged by what they saw of Kadri, which is to say, it’s a start. Playing on a line with Tyler Bozak and Nikolai Kulemin, Kadri looked at ease on the left wing, often making the right

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